He went with his men to meet the Commandant, who had finished his beating-up of the game and, like himself, had not obtained a glimpse of even Chéri-Bibi's shadow. Of course no one now believed in his death.
When the Commandant was informed of the extent of the disaster, he exclaimed to the Lieutenant:
"We must warn Cayenne, Kourou, Sinnamarie, St. Laurent and the other stations on the coast. I look upon it as most unfortunate, but we mustn't lose time. The convicts must have felt certain of being able to leave the roadstead or they wouldn't have attempted such a stroke, and possibly they have made terms with some vessel passing through. What's that Dutch schooner which dropped anchor off the harbor last night? Perhaps she has lowered a boat, or perhaps the men have joined some small craft by swimming out to her."
"Let's hope the sharks will get 'em!" returned the Lieutenant.
"Meantime, while we are looking for Chéri-Bibi here, the other convicts have probably already got outside our waters. Go and telephone to Cayenne and Kourou at once."
"I suggest, Commandant, that it might be better while our people are telephoning to Cayenne for me to go in the motor-launch to the mainland. I should get to Kourou very quickly, for it is only about eight miles from here, and I could convey orders to Sinnamarie and St. Laurent, and see personally that the steps which have to be taken are carried out. Not forgetting that if I meet our 'jail-birds' on the way I can bring them back to you at once."
"I agree. Take a couple of well-armed overseers with you, and shoot at sight anyone you may meet who refuses to obey orders."
The Lieutenant saluted and hurriedly made for the jetty.
We left the Parisian, the Burglar, the Caid and the Joker hiding in the fore deck-house on the launch. They still remained there in a frame of mind that it is easy to picture. Sufficient time had elapsed for them to realize that their escape was no longer a secret to anyone. The commotion in the island, the galloping of patrols, and finally the firing of the gun on Devil's Island, sufficed to put them in possession of the facts.
"We're badly done," the Burglar said aloud. "There's no hope for us with this caboodle as we can't make her go. If Chéri-Bibi and the Nut turn up we may be able to come to an understanding."